Larkin overpowers Burlington Central
By Gene Chamberlain For Sun-Times Media February 22, 2012 9:16PM
Larkin's Quentin Ruff shoots past Burlington Central's Ryan Ritchie on Wednesday in Burlington. | Andrew A. Nelles~For Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Updated: March 28, 2012 10:19PM
A Larkin team with an abundance of quickness at guard has found even more depth at the spot with sophomore Kendale McCullum.
Promoted from the sophomore team in mid-January, McCullum has bided his time and in a Wednesday night nonconference game at Burlington Central he exploded in the second quarter for 11 of his team-high 16 points as the Royals went on to a 79-67 nonconference victory.
“That’s kind of who he is,” Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. “He’s good in a game like this. He likes to play up and down. He’s a real good ball defender when he’s playing fundamentally sound and he was doing that in the first half.
“I thought he gave us a spark. That’s the reason he’s out there as a sophomore.”
Central had pulled within 35-31 with 3:30 left in the half on a layup by Clint Creal, but McCullum drove the lane for a layup, then stole the ball and sank a layup for a 39-31 lead. He had two more steals for layups and two free throws after a foul on a fast break during a 17-3 run in the final 3:14 of the half that earned the Royals a 52-34 halftime lead.
“I practice anticipating a lot, so I knew which way the guy was going to go with the crossover and was able to get the steals,” said McCullum, who finished with four steals, five rebounds and three assists. “When coach first brought me up I didn’t think I was going to get a lot of playing time because (Derrick) Streety is doing a nice job, but then he told me to do what you’ve got to do and your time will come and I guess now is my time.”
The Royals (15-10) were never seriously challenged after that as they ended a three-game losing streak and snapped the Rockets’ four-game winning streak. But Central (16-10), which has a game for the Big Northern East title Friday against Richmond-Burton, never quit and managed to get within 11 with 3:35 to play behind a big second half by Ray Hunnicutt.
Hunnicutt, who becomes the school’s all-time scoring leader Friday with 13 points, had 21 points against Larkin, including 13 in the second half. Ryan Ritchie had 19 for the Rockets.
“Nothing bad came from this in my mind,” Central coach Brett Porto said. “We got to play a tough team going into the conference championship game and we’ve got regionals next week.
“That’s exactly the opponent you want to play. If we executed better in the first half and seized some opportunities in the second half, you don’t know what would have happened.”
The one opportunity Central wanted to seize was when it got to 11 with 3 1/2 minutes left, but after two missed Rocket foul shots, center Antonio Pipes ended any Rocket hopes of a miracle comeback with a three-point play.
Larkin had balanced scoring and Carter substituted liberally. The Royals’ bench outscored their starters in the first half 29-23. For the game, Larkin had five players besides McCullum in double figures scoring-wise: Ian Fluhler with 13 points and Quantice Hunter, Quentin Ruff, Pipes and Blake Grantham with 10 each.
Pipes hauled down 12 rebounds and the Royals outrebounded Central 43-28.
“Anybody’s lying to you if they tell you that they’re not looking at next week (regionals) now,” Carter said. “That’s the focus for every team in Illinois right now.
“Our goal was just to get better and hopefully we did that.”
Comments Click here to view or make a comment